The Denver Broncos and former big-money free agent Ja’Wuan James are likely headed for a parting of ways after James’ latest major injury. A former first-round pick of the Dolphins, James signed a four-year deal with the Denver Broncos worth $51 million in total money, $27 million guaranteed at signing.
Although the Denver Broncos cannot recoup the $17.6 million that has been paid to James already, they will likely get back nearly $11 million in cash that was supposed to be paid out for the 2021 season as James — who had spent all offseason training at the Broncos’ facility prior to the NFLPA’s instructions to stay away — suffered an Achilles injury working out on his own away from the team facility.
James’ injury is going to likely bring a lot of conflict forward from the NFL players and the NFLPA, whose decision to sign the last CBA seems worse by the day in hindsight.
The decisions made by James since signing with the Denver Broncos have reflected very poorly on him, though you can never really fault players for doing what’s best for themselves.
Since he signed the dotted line in Denver, James played merely 63 offensive snaps in regular season play. After getting run into by former Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict in the 2019 season-opener, James spent time on the injured list before getting cleared by Denver Broncos team doctors.
Despite being cleared medically, James chose not to play because of the discomfort or hesitance he had with his knee. Vic Fangio’s comments, at the time, did not seem to signify much empathy towards James.
Then, in the 2020 offseason, James was one of a fairly large number of NFL players to opt-out of the season. NFL facilities frankly became some of the safest places to be in the entire country last year with constant testing for the virus, cleaning protocols, social distance protocols, mask protocols, etc. James’ decision to opt-out was for multiple reasons, at least from what we know from the outside looking in.
James welcomed a child into the world last year but he also noted on Twitter that part of his motivation for sitting out the 2020 season had nothing to do with COVID itself and more to do with a higher risk of being injured.
@obj was one of the main voices on those calls talking about the higher injury risk due to the lack of preparation time with COVID. Hurts to see him & others go out like that stay up bro & everyone else whose recovering this year 🙏🏾
— Ja'Wuan James (@JawuanJames70) October 26, 2020
After the 2020 season concluded, Broncos players and coaches were asked about James returning for 2021. Up to this point, the expectation has been that James would return as the starting right tackle because his contract tolled an entire year when he opted out of the 2020 season. Financially, the Denver Broncos were tied to him.
Despite that, left tackle Garett Bolles had some interesting comments about James needing to essentially regain the trust of his teammates upon returning to the fold.
"“I’ve talked to him now and then. He knows what he has to do to get back into the room, and he knows what he has to do to earn our trust back. At the same time, we’re going to open our arms and love him and take care of him. He has a lot of work to do to get where he needs to be, and I know he’ll do that.” Garett Bolles (January via Broncos PR)"
Needless to say, James’ injury is something absolutely no one wanted to happen. With that being said, his decision to leave the team facility to work out privately was clearly not in his best interests, and the Denver Broncos will now have the opportunity to move on from his contract, recoup a significant chunk of cash, and perhaps upgrade at that right tackle spot.
What free agents are available to them? Let’s take a look.
Mitchell Schwartz
For the better part of the past decade, Mitchell Schwartz has been arguably the best right tackle in the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs have certainly not been paying market value for him.
I put Schwartz on the top of this list because he’s available and he may have the best proven track record at right tackle of any guy in free agency.
With that being said, Schwartz is still a free agent likely because he’s not healthy enough to sign somewhere yet. The timing may not be right for the Denver Broncos to go and pick him up.
Schwartz had a back injury in 2020 and although he figured he’d miss some time because of it, little did he know he would end up on IR and getting surgery.
He’s been working his way back, so I do believe rumors of his impending retirement are exaggerated, but it would make sense that Schwartz has something in place with the Chiefs whenever he’s healthy enough to get back at it again.
If the Denver Broncos can somehow convince Schwartz to come and play in the Mile High City, it would be a pretty sweet coup for Denver. Von Miller has praised Schwartz in the past as one of the best linemen he’s gone up against throughout his career.
Charles Leno Jr.
The Denver Broncos have an obvious connection to the Chicago Bears in head coach Vic Fangio, who obviously spent a number of years going up against Charles Leno Jr. in practices.
One statistic that will be music to the ears of Denver Broncos fans?
Since 2015, Leno has missed just nine snaps, all of which occurred in the 2018 season (Fangio’s final season in Chicago).
Besides that, Leno has not missed any time for the Chicago Bears as their starting left tackle and has been a staple for them before being released just recently.
Only 29 years old, Leno is an attractive free agent option for a few reasons, namely age, durability (availability), and the connection to the coaching staff. The main issue here? Leno has no real experience at right tackle in the NFL.
As a veteran player at this point, you expect guys to be able to play different spots on the line. Tristan Wirfs, a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers likened playing the different tackle positions to changing which hand you wipe yourself with.
Crude as that analogy may be, it’s certainly one way to put it.
If Leno is willing, he could be the Denver Broncos’ starting right tackle in 2021. He may also have opportunities elsewhere in the league (Colts) to start at left tackle.
Eric Fisher
The Denver Broncos have seen a lot of Eric Fisher since he was the number one overall pick in the mostly horrible 2013 NFL Draft.
It appeared early on that the Chiefs had potentially made a huge mistake by taking Fisher with that pick, but he’s since carved out a very nice career with them.
As a former number one overall pick, it would be fascinating to see him play under offensive line coach Mike Munchak who has routinely been able to get the best out of players, even though at this point, Fisher is certainly no project.
The major reticence here is again with injuries in recent history.
Fisher is presently coming off of a torn Achilles, the same injury that has Ja’Wuan James a candidate to miss the entire 2021 season. The major difference is, Fisher suffered his injury in the AFC Championship game months ago, so he’s ahead in terms of recovery.
Fisher played just eight games the season prior to that, which definitely should give the Denver Broncos pause considering we’re about to go into a 17-game season here.
Fisher was effectively replaced by the Chiefs with their big trade for Orlando Brown Jr., so unlike Mitchell Schwartz, I don’t think Fisher has any chance of landing there again. He has a visit this week with the Indianapolis Colts and former Chiefs front office member Chris Ballard, so it would make sense for those two parties to strike a deal.
Fisher would also have to switch positions in Denver. I would say this option is unlikely, but it’s an option nonetheless.
Rick Wagner
Veteran right tackle Rick Wagner has played for the Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions (with current starting right guard Graham Glasgow), and the Green Bay Packers most recently.
In Green Bay, he blocked for MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers who has recently become a topic of great interest in the Denver Broncos’ context.
How fascinating would it be if the Denver Broncos were able to sign Wagner as a precursor to trading for Rodgers?
Pro Football Focus gave Wagner, who is still just 31, very solid grades in the 2020 season for his play at the right tackle spot. This move would be a no-brainer in terms of getting a guy who could potentially be a liaison to Rodgers.
The Denver Broncos are not allowed to communicate directly with Rodgers, that would be tampering. Wagner, however, is allowed to do whatever he wants. He could provide Denver a direct line of communication to the guy he protected in 2020.
It would be shocking if Wagner was not one of the top guys being considered by the Broncos at this point, not just for the fact that he is connected to Rodgers, but because of his strong play throughout his career.
Other available FA options
Dennis Kelly
Kelly was a starter last year for the Titans after spending the first significant portion of his career as a journeyman and backup.
He has played pretty great for the Titans as a run blocker and pass protector, and PFF says he didn’t give up a sack all of 2020, with over 1,000 snaps played.
He was a spot-starter in 2019 and played well in that opportunity as well. He has been Jack Conklin’s injury replacement and then his full-time replacement, and he’s shown worthy of another starting gig elsewhere at right tackle.
Bobby Massie
Another former Chicago Bears tackle, Massie has been the right tackle with Charles Leno as the bookend on the left side.
Since he came into the league, Massie has proven to be no worse than league average at the right tackle position, which would probably be just fine with the Denver Broncos.
The big question mark here is once again health. Massie has played just one full 16-game season since 2015 and has missed 14 games over the last two years.
Demar Dotson
Although Dotson played well in spot duty for the Denver Broncos as a pass protector in 2020, you can’t help but wonder why the team will be lining up visits at the right tackle position if Dotson is such a no-brainer to bring back.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Broncos re-sign Dotson for depth, but it would be surprising to see them prioritize him over other options that are younger and offer a potential multi-year solution at the position.
Denver Broncos: Day 3 draft picks provide depth, huge upside
The Denver Broncos had another successful day of the 2021 NFL Draft on day three, adding plenty of depth and upside on offense and defense.
Ultimately, of all of these free agent options, the Denver Broncos are in a pretty great position overall. There is no question that you don’t want to lose your projected starter to injury, but there’s also no question that there are likely upgrades in free agency available and when you’re in May and that’s the case, you’re pretty fortunate.